School Board approves bonuses

JACKSONVILLE — All employees in the Jacksonville/North Pulaski School District will be receiving a bonus to be paid in two parts, the School Board decided Monday night.

Teachers of special education students and transportation employees will receive additional bonuses on top of the first bonuses.

The district’s 299 state-licensed employees — including teachers — will receive a total of $1,850 with a first $1,000 installment of that to be paid in December and the second installment of at least $850 to be paid in May.

Classified employees, of which there are 250, will receive $1,250, with $1,000 to be paid in December and at least $250 in May. The total cost will be $677,055 for the licensed teachers and $382,500 for the support staff.

Jeremy Owoh, the district’s superintendent, told the School Board that the bonus for the teachers is being paid out of the state’s Teacher Equalization Fund.

The May payment to the Jacksonville/ North Pulaski teachers may ultimately be higher than $850, Owoh said, if there are very few new teacher hires during the course of the school year.

The board also approved payment of bonuses for particular categories of hard-tohire special education teachers and bus drivers.

The board approved a $5,000 incentive bonus — to be paid in installments over three years — to licensed special education teachers and teachers of special education students who are acquiring special education licenses in addition to their licenses in other teaching fields.

The eligible employees will receive $850 per semester for five semesters and $750 in the last semester of the third year.